It’s been a while since my last post - I’m now 16 weeks and 1 day from surgery and really turned a corner after 3rd January. I’m able to skip again! I’m only doing 2.5 minutes twice a week but I haven’t been able to skip without pain since October 2019 (when I got chondrocalcinosis on top of the existing arthritis) and it’s a wonderful feeling to be able to do more challenging workouts again.
I’m walking a lot more too - about 10,000-14,000 seps a day - and although I still have some niggles it’s all bearable and I’m only taking strong pain relief at night.
My flexion is now 115 in my right leg and 110 in my left leg, extension very nearly 0 - this is a huge improvement for me and I’m able to do stairs like a normal person!!! Bit uncomfortable coming down but doable.
Finally starting to see a future where I’ll be able to forget about my knees, where I can do things I haven’t been able to for years, where I can start new things too - such a massive struggle to get to this stage and there were far too many times where I felt totally discouraged and regretted the surgery. But now I’m starting to feel happy that I had it done, especially getting it done when I did before the new lockdowns.
Back at work - unfortunately Zoom sessions only until I can re-open my private gym - but in a way that’s a help for me right now because it’s giving me more time to focus on my recovery and get closer to full fitness.
Just really wanted to give a positive update in these horrendously difficult times - and hopefully reassure others that it does (eventually) start to get better. Everyone’s recovery is totally different and there should never be comparisons with how someone else is doing at a certain stage - that can be quite depressing - when I was getting super worried about my ROM I just kept reading the posts showing how it can progress over a year or two, without pushing too fast too soon and I found that a massive comfort.
It might seem that I’m exercising quite intensely for the stage that I’m at but I’ve been a Personal Trainer for 9 years and I’ve been exercising regularly for over 20 years. I’m lucky that I had the tools to push myself through a brutal pre-habitation programme before surgery too.
Wishing everyone a good recovery and hopefully a better New Year once the vaccination programme starts to kick in and gives us all back some of our freedom.